Wyoming's High Price For Prosperity

Coalbed methane was first recognized as a valuable commodity in the southern Rockies in the 1970s. Only recently, did it create a buzz for economically-depressed Wyoming. T"he problem is that collecting the natural gas could imperil what is perhaps the arid state's most precious resource: water. As a result, the rush to develop methane is pitting rancher against rancher, even state against state, as they weigh a much-needed revenue source against mining's environmental cost."